DOI: 10.46340/eppd.2025.12.5.4
Mykyta Petrakov, PhD in Political Science
South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after Kostiantyn Dmytrovych Ushynsky
How to cite: Petrakov, M. (2025). Politics of Memory in East Asian Countries: Between Postcolonial Trauma, State Nation-Building, and Regional Controversies. Evropský politický a právní diskurz, 12, 5, 52-56. https://doi.org/10.46340/eppd.2025.12.5.4
Abstract
In the contemporary world, memory politics has gained particular significance in East Asian countries, notably Japan, China, and India. It encompasses the memory of colonial pasts, wars, occupations, and decolonization processes, shaping national identity, state legitimacy, and foreign policy. The historical experiences of these countries differ: Japan – a former imperial state, China – a country subjected to imperial influence, and India – a postcolonial state developing its own national consciousness. Memorials, state rituals, and museums become key elements of memory politics, as well as instruments of ‘memory diplomacy.’
Contemporary memory politics in China combines state institutions with material and non-material practices, forming an official narrative of victimhood under imperialism and national unity. In India, memory of the colonial past and the struggle for independence serves as a decolonial project, simultaneously integrating cultural diversity and religious heritage. Memory politics in Japan exists within a political discourse between nationalist and pacifist interpretations of the past, reflected in controversies over the Yasukuni Shrine and school textbooks.
The study demonstrates that memory politics in East Asia serves as an important tool for state-building, fostering civic solidarity, and international positioning. It combines local, national, and transnational practices, enabling the construction of national identity, legitimization of power, and influence into regional relations. Three models of memorial politics in the region can be identified: the Japanese model – reconsideration of post-imperial responsibility; the Chinese model – a narrative of victimhood and revenge; the Indian model – a decolonial project of self-determination. Memory politics thus becomes a dynamic political resource, linking the past, present, and strategic state planning in a global context.
Keywords: memory politics, East Asia, Japan, China, India, postcolonial trauma, national identity, commemorations, memorials, memory diplomacy.
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